About Our Name

Announcing emFATic DANCE!

In August of 2012, Big Moves changed the name of our resident dance company. We are excited to announce that the Phat Fly Girls are now emFATic DANCE. We hope you will join us in celebrating this great change!

We have had the Phat Fly Girls name since our inception in 2001, and while we understand that we are strongly branded with this name, we believe that we needed to change the name for several reasons. First, our concern and understanding about the cultural appropriation inherent in the name “Phat Fly Girls” has grown over the years. We take full responsibility for the problematic nature of the name, given our company’s historical racial demographics, and we genuinely apologize for any hurt or upset our use of the name may have caused. We are committed to moving forward more thoughtfully and doing the ongoing work of making Big Moves and our projects appropriation-free zones. Second, while we have always been open to dancers of all genders, we recognize that a name that is truly gender-neutral will be more welcoming to those who do not identify as female as well as more appropriate and accurate for our group. We are allied with and strive to represent dancers of many races, ethnicities, genders, and abilities. In doing so, we are actively engaged in creating a foundation to further strengthen and diversify our company. Lastly, while the Phat Fly Girls were originally primarily a hip-hop-based company, over the past five years our style has gradually shifted to one based in jazz dance and its many variations and relatives such as musical theater, lyrical, and contemporary, and we wanted a name that more accurately reflected what we do.

We are very excited about moving forward as emFATic DANCE, and as always, we thank you for your support of Big Moves!